Kizlyar church shooting

Coordinates: 43°51′19″N 46°42′51″E / 43.8554°N 46.7142°E / 43.8554; 46.7142
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Kizlyar church shooting
Part of Islamic State insurgency in the North Caucasus, Terrorism in Russia and Islamic terrorism in Europe
LocationKizlyar, Dagestan, Russia
Coordinates43°51′19″N 46°42′51″E / 43.8554°N 46.7142°E / 43.8554; 46.7142
Date18 February 2018
Attack type
Mass shooting
Weapons
Deaths6 (including the perpetrator)
Injured4[1]
Perpetrator Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
AssailantKhalil Khalilov

On 18 February 2018, a 22-year-old man local to the Russia’s southern republic of Dagestan carrying a knife and a double-barreled shotgun opened fire on a crowd at an Orthodox church in Kizlyar, killing five women and injuring several other people, including two police and three others.[2] He was shot and killed by police on duty nearby.

The attack occurred as churchgoers celebrated the Sunday of Forgiveness, the last day of Cheesefare week, a Christian holiday marking the last day before Lent according to the eastern Orthodox calendar.[3]

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) named the man Khalil al-Dagestani, one of its soldiers. Police named him Khalil Khalilov.[4] Pro-ISIL social media later shared a video of a masked man with a shotgun and knife, said to be the killer, pledging his allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Опубликован список погибших и пострадавших в результате стрельбы в Кизляре". dag.aif.ru. Feb 18, 2018. Retrieved Oct 26, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Kramer, Andrew E.; Callimachi, Rukmini (18 February 2018). "ISIS Claims Deadly Attack on Church in Russian Region of Dagestan". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  3. ^ "Five killed in attack on church in Russia's Dagestan: agencies". Reuters. 18 February 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  4. ^ "Russia Dagestan shooting: Five women killed in attack on churchgoers". BBC News. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.